2 things

1. I can't believe my baby is going to be 5 in just a few short weeks.

2. I can't believe I am old enough to have a 5 year old.

It just hit both Keith and I the other day. I said, "Can you believe we are going to have a 5 year old?" I still am not quite sure I am old enough for this. :) That is just crazy and mind boggling to me. I am so proud of her and proud to be her mama. I just can't believe it has already been 5 years!

I ordered some invitations for her small birthday we will be having, and had to take some pics of this monumental year as well...half of a decade! :)

My sweet girl...

 

 

 Love the expression here...so 'her.'

 

 

 

What a beauty and a blessing she is to us!

Just got her invitations too...

We will soon be celebrating her special day!

valentines day 2012

The Broady Valentine's wasn't super eventful...but special none the less. I happen to love Valentine's Day despite the critics of the holiday. I'm such a sap and just love the whole feel of it. We don't go overboard on the holiday, but just love on each other...with a few treats. :)

The kids got some cards and candy VERY early in the morning. I just could't help it. I love buying and giving them stuff. So...what better time to eat chocolate than 9 am??!!

 Giving them their cards

 Adders had just gotten out of the bath...hence her wet hair. :)

 Pretty sure she was just 'eyeing' the chocolate.

 Don't think he really knew why he got a card or candy.

After opening the chocolate, which happened to be inside the card, they didn't waste any time. ;)

 

 

 

 I didn't even get a picture before they started devouring it.

 

 

 Their cards...post candy retrieval.

After that excitement, it was time to make a cake! We all worked together on our made-from-scratch Red Velvet masterpiece.

 Gathered all the ingredients.

 I had lots of help.

After all of our hard work...

 ...we ended up with our 'love cake.'

 We then moved on to the cream cheese frosting...where I, again, had lots of help.

 This was Kaden's favorite part of the 'job.'

We didn't enjoy our cake till after dinner. We had a very "romantic" dinner of ... enchiladas with homemade enchilada sauce. Maybe not super 'romantic' with 3 little kids but it was RED and pretty delicious. And...our 'romantic' days just look a little different right now, and that's okay with us. We wouldn't change it...loved spending time with the kids and all the excitement of the day.

 After dinner, my Valentine gave me a sweet card and some goodies inside of this bag. I also presented him with a card with a 'love' message. :) I like how Valentine's Day makes you take the time to say the things you really want to say all the time, but don't take the time to.

 Our finished, frosted, heart-shaped, Red Velvet cake. :)

 This little girl sure loved it.

What a happy Valentine's at the Broady's!

finger painting

I don't like mess. Really. I don't even allow glitter in the house...finally confessing it. It just gets everywhere, sticks to things and seems like you NEVER get rid of it. :/ I feel bad for the munchkins sometimes, but they get to do some glitter projects at church or with friends...just not with me. :) However, for Christmas I did go out on a limb and bought some finger paint. It was a stretch for me. Keith even noticed as he commented, "Are you seriously buying that?" But I did, and Adders has been asking me pretty much daily if she could use it. I finally agreed...with the understanding that the other two must be down for naps during this 'treat.' 

She loved it! And was pretty good at it too. 

 

She painted several pictures for me...most of which were some sort of a flower. She is so into flowers right now...and just so happens to be the theme of her birthday coming up very soon. :)

I was so proud of her, and happy that I was able to let her do this! I think that today we might even venture again into the world of finger painting...just to let her have some fun...during nap time of course.

school happenings

So proud of my little kiddos and what they are doing and learning in school right now. We take it slow, as well as take advantage of the million 'teachable moments' that occur during the day. Some days are great, some are good, and some are just blah! But...we are learning and settling in to what this looks like for our family right now. I am not pushing a lot on Addison right now, but she is doing really well and is hungry to learn. Some days she has lots of patience for reading and other days, we just put the book down and do a reading game of some sort. I don't want to frustrate her...just want her to have fun. 

My head is spinning after working with all of them and trying to keep everyone occupied, busy, and engaged. But...most of the time it is because I am trying to do too much, or didn't plan well enough for what I wanted to do. ;) But...I LOVE it. I love being with my kids and training and teaching and guiding and molding them into what God has created for them to be. 

 Some of the Math action going on.

 Kaden counting some corn kernels and gluing them on his paper.

 We started a unit on 'Ants' and I was/am super excited about it! Addison learned her Bible verse the very first day...

"Go the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise." Proverbs 6:6

She has also learned that ants don't have captains or parents always telling them what to do. They do their work without being told to do it, and work very hard!

We made a collage of every thing we learned, and glued it in a folder to keep.Will have to post a pic when it is done...probably adding our last piece to it today. I checked out some books from the library and gathered some materials and went to work. Addison learned a lot. Kaden was just around for most of it...looked at pictures or colored different things...and identified an A (most of the time). :)

 

Here she is putting her 'accordion' booklet together.

I'm excited to go to the Indiana Homeschool Convention at the end of March. It will be a first for me and Keith together. I went several times with my parents when I was little. It is massive and overwhelming...but good too! We have several friends heading that way too. Just praying that the Lord directs our steps and shows us exactly what we should be doing right now. As for our school days, we just take them a day at a time and soak up what we can...enjoying the journey.

exploring and messes

Payton has kept me hoppin' here recently. She is so into exploring her world that at times it gets out of hand, gets her into trouble, and makes for a frustrated Momma. There are some days that she just does not stop. Yesterday she came in the bathroom while I was trying to get ready, and in just a 20 minute period had spilled baby wash all over the floor, drug out all the wash cloths, gotten into everyone's toothbrushes, pulled toilet paper off the roll, fell off the toilet and hit her head, grabbed all the brushes and combs out of the drawer, and tried to steal and grab my make-up and hair spray. And...I was really watching her! She is just so fast! I was quite frazzled to say the least. :) She is a determined little girl and just isn't deterred by much. We sure love that determination, but just need to help her in channeling it in the right direction.

Keith and I had a little talk last  night and nipping some of this in the bud. I find myself wanting to ignore some of it just to keep the peace sometimes. But I want to train her too...oh the 'terrible ones" it seems to be around here. :) She really is a SWEET little girl that never really stops smiling...and hasn't since she was born. She is just testing the waters a little bit right now. ;)

One of the messes yesterday, that I had to capture...

 She had just reached up in the drawer and pulled out ALL the straws...and just thought it was awesome.

I just smiled. On the bright side...it kept her busy for quite a while so that I could do school with Addison. :)

all lined up!

I think my kiddos may have gotten some of my "organization gene." Addison is always telling me that she is going to organize her shoes or her drawers to make her Mama happy...and that it does! I love to have things in order. The opposite makes me feel claustrophobic sometimes...although...my house is far from organized on many days. :) 

I knew Addison liked things neat and in their place, but I think the other two kiddos are following suit.

Take a look...

 Little Kaden with all the toys lined up...and you MUST NOT mess them up (like his little sis' Payton loves to do) or he will scream hysterically till they are all put back in their proper place! :) Oh, son.

 In addition, Payton has now caught on to this pattern. :) Right after this pic, she started lining up her baby dolls behind the cars as well...all in a perfectly straight line.

 Quite proud of herself here.

Leaves me wondering if I am leaving them a good example to follow or one that is too regimented. :) I'll stick with the 'good' right now because it helps me out around the house. :)

west baden...a lil' trip away

I just love traveling...anytime, anywhere...as long as it's with Keith. :) 

We had planned on making a trip to IKEA after Christmas to get some things and just to have a day away. That thought led me to ponder us getting away for just a bit longer...just the two of us...to some place nice. We have talked about going to French Lick and I thought it might be nice for just the two of us. I surprised Keith and just told him he needed to cancel a doctor appointment that he had, pack some clothes, and get ready to leave town! I realize that French Lick and Cincinnati are completely in opposite directions, but when there aren't any kids crying in the back of the van, it just doesn't matter how far you travel! :)

After all the packing, dropping off kiddos, and hugs and kisses, it was on to enjoying ourselves on the drive out there.
We had some good conversation and just enjoyed spending time together...so necessary. We walked around the little town for a bit when we got there, going in some neat little shops. We even got to hold hands as we walked around...lugging our little brood around doesn't always allow for that between the diaper bag, purse, blankets, etc. It was nice. :)
We had lunch. I took some pictures...imagine that?! Then we checked into our room late afternoon which was at West Baden...what a beautiful dome and place that is. So peaceful and relaxing and they still had it decorated for Christmas which was gorgeous!

I just love the vintage feel of the little town.

Outside of the 'big dome.'

Not sure exactly what this was, but Keith took his time checking it out...so I took some pics. :)

This little place is now an antique store...with some cool looking pieces.

This was a mural painted on the side of a building...just loved the detail. 

Inside the pretty dome...just so peaceful.

I just love it every time we travel to have folded towels, good little soaps, etc. just waiting for me to use. :) Random picture...but just a little peek into the R&R those couple days allowed us.